skip to main content

Southwestern Gardening

Albuquerque: Shading to Extend Spring Growing Season

20 years ago

In Albuquerque, how much is it possible to extend

the spring growing season using shade fabric?

Specifically, I'm interested in greens and other

cool-weather staples like broccoli. Is it possible to

grow greens straight through the summer if properly

shaded or does the air temperature just get too hot?

I'm thinking of building "shade tunnels" over a couple

of my beds using a hoop-house design. I'd probably

build them 3 to 4 feet in height, so the heat of the

fabric would be minimized and there would be an ample

amount of space to let wind flow through.

Thanks,

- Brice

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

gusta114
20 years ago
Dio2 majd akkor jelenik meg, amikor a Duke 4ever ;))..... vazzeg!
megyek hazafele a boltbol, kilepek az ajton tomkodom a kabatzsebembe a ket doboz cigit, a felliteres danont, meg a 2 literes kolat...
hirtelen raebereddek, hogy a kola nem fog beleferni. erre akkorat fikaztam, mint allat :( tiszta joghurt lett a kabatom. ez rossz elojel...
lizard_acres
20 years ago
In Santa Fe, I have extended lettuce and greens until late July by planting time and varieties. I found shade netting worked OK but not great, and the taste wasn't as good.

I think heavily mulched soil is more effective than shade. Plants are very keyed into day length as well as soil warmth, and these two are what mostly causes bolting in lettuce.

The best heat tolerant, long-day tolerant lettuces are the Batavians, and my favorite is Nevada, but I've been having trouble finding the seeds now. Red Grenoble is similar. This is a semi-heading lettuce that really stands up to heat...even those 90+ degree days in June and early July, before the rain (ha...what rain.) Romaines also do well in the heat. I like Little Gem and Rosalita. Plant summer lettuces around the average last frost date for your area, so you are too late this year.

I also find Red Deer Tongue to be very heat tolerant. Some Butterheads are heat tolerant.

I learned to extend my lettuce season from the "The Cook's Garden" catalog. Sow cutting lettuces weekly as soon as the ground can be worked. Sow spring lettuces (deer tongue, some butter lettuces) in early spring. Sow summer lettuces around the last frost date. For germination in warm weather, sow the seeds, cover with good layer of straw, water well. Check daily for germination and remove straw once most seeds have sprouted, or the seedlings get leggy fast. Don't forget about sowing for fall lettuces, too. I usually put my fall lettuces in mid August (probably late August or early Sept for ABQ, and cutting lettuces in early September. Also, don't forget about escarole and chard for summer greens (need cooking.)

I gave up long ago on spring and fall broccoli and cauliflower. The spring is too hot, too dry, too windy and the sun is too intense. I only plant them for fall...I set seedlings out around the 4th of July. Probably late July would work in ABQ. Hope this helps.
Related Discussions
Heat cables in the soil to extend season (greenhouse)
Q
Comments (1)
Warm season crops will grow much better if you can maintain a minimum of 60F soil temperature. But you don't need to do it all courtesy of your electric bill. A black soil surface, black plastic or weed barrier alone or combined with clear poly over black will also heat the soil.
...See More
greenhouse out of skylights to extend season
Q
Comments (1)
It would seem that for considerably less expense in time, labor, and materials, you could buy/build from new materials, a simple greenhouse/transplant structure. The "curvy" material is probably polycarbonate, and is a strong, weather resistant, material. For much better heat retention, dual layer polycarbonate is the preferred choice.
...See More
Trying to extend my Tomato season, is there any hope?
Q
Comments (7)
Tracy, ah Zebraman confused me. I thought you were in Cali. I scanned various desert climates regularly this year to see what we were all facing. Tucson is no picnic, but Phoenix was consistently the hottest area I watched. Vegas and other parts of the Mojave, like where I am, gave you good competition, but we cool off at night a lot better than you do during most of the summer. By cool off I mean low 90s and high 80s for me, when you'd barely dip under 100 at 3am. Peppers have done so well for me that I halfway wonder if I should transfer the addiction from tomatoes. For me it's jalepenos, habs, serranos, and a mystery hot pepper I'll photograph for the pepper forum on one side of the house, and Cal Wonder and Big Dipper producing bags of peppers weekly on the other side. Total of 20 pepper plants all going nuts into the fall. For now I'm not yet doing anything other than what I described above (some temporary plastic wrapped pvc frames over a couple loaded plants, and planning a hoophouse with seed already started). I am going to try to keep the hoophouse from freezing with solar heated water (filled milk jugs, a 96 gal. trashcan, etc), but I suspect I'll run a propane heater for a few nights when we go into the teens like most years. I will give it a shot for seed starting, but a garage setup with shoplights has been ideal for me. You said: "I'd like to get some heirloom seeds from somewhere." There's dozens of seed sources online. People here, myself included, will happily send you some seed if they see this. You might want to set your email preference so you can be contacted by forum members. Trudi posts here and runs the Wintersown site. She has a growing variety of free seed available. Check out that link then click on Tomato SASE on the left side to see what she offers... for free. You may want to spend a little more time reading that long Desert Strategy thread though. Some varieties you may want to grow just don't perform for us. In my experience, you can grow cherry types to your heart's content, determinates started early seem to find a weather window to produce decently, the earlier 'days to maturity' the better for indeterminates. Good luck.
...See More
Trini Scorpion and Guajillo in Harmony...can I extend their season?
Q
Comments (2)
J FLynn, I bring in a couple of my favorite hot pepper plants and overwinter them. So far, I have been fairly successful/lucky with them but they do not produce pods or any new growth. My house is fairly cool/cold in the winter and I am very close to the bay, so plenty of moisture in the air, too. I water them once every two weeks or so with room temp water and very little. The existing leaves and entire plant just seems to freeze in time until the spring. When I take them back outside, evenings high 50s+, they sprout and fill in like a huge bush. The jalapeno I have kept for a couple of years has dozens and dozens of peppers on it. The only change I have noticed is that as the bush has gotten older, I get more round jalapeno peppers, maybe 15% of the plant. The taste and heat is fine, too. I have seen no ill effects to the two big habaneroes, either. The larger of the two has about a 100 peppers on it right now and maybe half that amount again in flowers and buds. I am on the east end of Long Island, too, same zone as you.
...See More
lindabelle41
20 years ago
I have tried this in Houston with out much success. Our highs and those in ALBQ (just came back from a trip there) are similar but your lows are 10-20 degrees lower. Also we have so much humidity here.

Related Stories

WINTER GARDENING Extend Your Growing Season With a Cold Frame in the Garden

By Paintbox Garden

If the sun's shining, it might be time to sow seeds under glass to transplant or harvest

GARDENING GUIDES Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Chard

By Marianne Lipanovich

A year-round garden favorite with a colorful stem, Swiss chard comes into its own in early spring and in fall

COOL-SEASON CROPS Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Broccoli

By Marianne Lipanovich

Packed with vitamins, broccoli is a nutritional powerhouse and is easy to grow in a fall or spring garden

COOL-SEASON CROPS Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Radishes

By Marianne Lipanovich

Fast growing and bright, these easy-care veggies are great for kids and bring plentiful color to a fall or spring garden

FARM YOUR YARD Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Lettuce

By Marianne Lipanovich

Leaf, butterhead, crisphead or romaine — lettuce is best harvested in the cool weather of spring and fall

COOL-SEASON CROPS Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Potatoes

By Marianne Lipanovich

This ever-popular tuber is a stalwart in spring and fall gardens and a staple in kitchens everywhere

COOL-SEASON CROPS Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Peas

By Marianne Lipanovich

Their sweetness isn't just for spring. Peas thrive in cool weather too, adding a garden-fresh note to soups, salads and more through fall

COOL-SEASON CROPS Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Spinach

By Marianne Lipanovich

Chock-full of antioxidants and iron, spinach is a nutrient-rich addition to your fall or spring garden

FARM YOUR YARD Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Beets

By Marianne Lipanovich

Give canned versions of this fall and spring garden favorite the heave-ho and discover its true flavor and colors

COOL-SEASON CROPS Cool-Season Vegetables: How to Grow Chinese Cabbage

By Marianne Lipanovich

Napa cabbage, pak choi, bok choy — no matter what you call it, this edible is a good candidate for fall and spring gardens

0

Sponsored

12 Reviews

Pittsburgh's Custom Kitchen & Bath Designs for Everyday Living